A vehicle cargo bed typically includes a bottom plate, left and right side panels, a tail panel, and a front panel. The tail panel and/or the side panels are each formed in an openable gate shape for loading and unloading cargo.
Such a gate-shaped panel is positionally changeable between a closed position where the panel is rotatably supported by an end of the bottom plate via a hinge and upstands substantially vertically from the bottom plate and a fully opened position where the panel hangs down from the bottom plate. There is provided a panel locking device configured to retain the gate-shaped panel at the closed position.
FIG. 10 depicts a conventional panel locking device for a cargo bed according to Japanese Utility Model Publication No. JP H3-52291, which includes a locking handle (locking lever) 91 rotatably provided to an openable gate-shaped panel 90, and a U-shaped handle ring (movable hook) 92 coupled to the locking handle 91. The panel locking device further includes a fixed hook 94 provided to an adjacent panel 93. The handle ring 92 is engaged with the fixed hook 94 and the locking handle 91 is rotated about a spindle 95 to pull the handle ring 92, so that the gate-shaped panel 90 is fixed at the closed position.